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[Metallica]

Content is republished with permission from Malwarebytes.

What is AdBlock Stream?

The Malwarebytes research team has determined that AdBlock Stream is adware. These adware applications display advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing.
This particular one redirects users to advertising sites.

How do I know if my computer is affected by AdBlock Stream?

You may see this new entry in your list of installed Chrome extensions:



You may see these warnings during install:





How did AdBlock Stream get on my computer?

Adware applications use different methods for distributing themselves. This particular one was downloaded from the webstore:



after a redirect from their website:



How do I remove AdBlock Stream?

Our program Malwarebytes can detect and remove this adware program.

• Please download Malwarebytes for Windows to your desktop.
• Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
• When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
• Click on the Get started button.
• Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
• When the scan is finished click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
• Reboot the system if prompted to complete the removal process.

Is there anything else I need to do to get rid of AdBlock Stream?

• No, Malwarebytes removes AdBlock Stream completely.

How would the full version of Malwarebytes help protect me?

We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this adware.

As you can see below Malwarebytes Browser Guard, and the full version of Malwarebytes would have protected you against the AdBlock Stream hijacker. It would have blocked their website, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late.

Technical details for experts

Possible signs in FRST logs:

CHR Extension: (AdBlock Stream) - C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf [2020-12-08]

Significant changes made by the installer:

File system details [View: All details] (Selection)
---------------------------------------------------
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\1.1.2.45_0
       Adds the file 128.png"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 8327 bytes, A
       Adds the file background.js"="11/27/2020 4:14 AM, 10783 bytes, A
       Adds the file blocked_domains.js"="11/13/2020 11:16 PM, 1712208 bytes, A
       Adds the file manifest.json"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 1188 bytes, A
       Adds the file popup.html"="10/1/2020 3:55 AM, 6427 bytes, A
       Adds the file popup.js"="8/13/2020 4:49 PM, 402 bytes, A
       Adds the file validation.js"="10/29/2020 11:25 AM, 145 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\1.1.2.45_0\_metadata
       Adds the file computed_hashes.json"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 20348 bytes, A
       Adds the file verified_contents.json"="11/27/2020 4:15 AM, 1963 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf
       Adds the file 000003.log"="12/8/2020 8:59 AM, 4336 bytes, A
       Adds the file CURRENT"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 16 bytes, A
       Adds the file LOCK"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 0 bytes, A
       Adds the file LOG"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 184 bytes, A
       Adds the file MANIFEST-000001"="12/8/2020 8:55 AM, 41 bytes, A

Registry details [View: All details] (Selection)
------------------------------------------------
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Chrome\PreferenceMACs\Default\extensions.settings]
       "npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf"="REG_SZ", "49BAF7EC014003CB12BF6D3AFD1B37F213F031D9335CCEB76906DA3E0B2213AE"

Malwarebytes log:

Malwarebytes
www.malwarebytes.com

-Log Details-
Scan Date: 12/8/20
Scan Time: 9:04 AM
Log File: fd785dda-392b-11eb-b72d-080027235d76.json

-Software Information-
Version: 4.2.3.96
Components Version: 1.0.1122
Update Package Version: 1.0.34065
License: Premium

-System Information-
OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1
CPU: x64
File System: NTFS
User: {computername}\{username}

-Scan Summary-
Scan Type: Threat Scan
Scan Initiated By: Manual
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 232175
Threats Detected: 11
Threats Quarantined: 11
Time Elapsed: 3 min, 26 sec

-Scan Options-
Memory: Enabled
Startup: Enabled
Filesystem: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Disabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Detect
PUM: Detect

-Scan Details-
Process: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Module: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Key: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Value: 1
Adware.SearchHijacker, HKCU\SOFTWARE\GOOGLE\CHROME\PREFERENCEMACS\Default\extensions.settings|npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , , 

Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Data Stream: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folder: 2
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , , 
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\EXTENSIONS\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf, Quarantined, 300, 886880, 1.0.34065, , ame, , , 

File: 8
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Secure Preferences, Replaced, 300, 886880, , , , , 8D033AA548B8B40F04183EFB580C5C8F, 95D201246649A63CA56B89ACF5A78B8ED5CADE8DBDAC95D277BB3C8F0A2FE490
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Preferences, Replaced, 300, 886880, , , , , 7BFEB9D99E605BDAAFA282F547585173, 2D73E48DF44E222C8882F51B5480A9277C7D5E7374D0B8B5D574D4B4EDFF41F0
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\000003.log, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , AE9BBA3A05A4FF801EBB060A1DB215AF, A6ED5C61609078517642E0B413DF5DAB50FD33979717332AE407CA1202152BE9
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\CURRENT, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , 46295CAC801E5D4857D09837238A6394, 0F1BAD70C7BD1E0A69562853EC529355462FCD0423263A3D39D6D0D70B780443
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\LOCK, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , , 
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\LOG, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , B16FB70297FE750550FC51C691E83AF7, 1AFEB0E0F7EB464865514E9F7CD6BD2086E98EF093F3ED1913BC10EA72045C5C
Adware.SearchHijacker, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Extension Settings\npknjhekabepaannekikfhjbjgjhlbpf\MANIFEST-000001, Quarantined, 300, 886880, , , , , 5AF87DFD673BA2115E2FCF5CFDB727AB, F9D31B278E215EB0D0E9CD709EDFA037E828F36214AB7906F612160FEAD4B2B4
Rogue.ForcedExtension, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\DEFAULT\EXTENSIONS\NPKNJHEKABEPAANNEKIKFHJBJGJHLBPF\1.1.2.45_0\BLOCKED_DOMAINS.JS, Quarantined, 1104, 447164, 1.0.34065, , ame, , 6FA4283300C4084CBC92EBBFCA255F23, 3CAA771D5287B8B1CB997CBF9EA778982188AD8FF011DC804B3FF32C224CDCAA

Physical Sector: 0
(No malicious items detected)

WMI: 0
(No malicious items detected)


(end)

As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes could have protected your computer against this threat.
We use different ways of protecting your computer(s):

• Dynamically Blocks Malware Sites & Servers
• Malware Execution Prevention

Save yourself the hassle and get protected.